The Avengers and Loki: Turn into Teens
by Kippy2002
Summary: The Avengers find Loki, but what finds Loki is even worse. His past. Can you imagine Loki as a kid, along with the avengers, then being turned into teenagers? A story about Loki turning into his real self again, and finding his one love.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

"Loki! Wait!" A young woman shouted at a boy with jet-black hair and blue eyes that shone with mischief. He looked over his shoulder at the girl who had the same black hair, but amber eyes that could see everything.

"They'll catch us if you don't hurry up Verity!" With that he ran at top speed to the tree that stood on a hill, very close to them.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

"I don't know why you were running." Verity said to Loki as she sat down beside him under the tree, panting very heavily. Loki shrugged and smiled at her, saying quietly, "If Odin doesn't know it was us, then he can't do anything to us."

Verity frowned at him, saying, "Unless my father tells him who did it."

Loki's eyes widened as he asked quietly, "He wasn't watching was he?" Verity shrugged, "Who knows? But even if he wasn't, it was still wrong."

"Please!" Loki cried as he lay back on the grass with his arms behind his head. "Thor had it coming. It might teach him not to be such an oaf next time." Verity stared at him as she hissed, "'Next time'? There isn't going to be a next time!"

A smile played at the corner of Loki's lips as he whispered, "Maybe."

Verity sighed as she looked to the palace of Asgard, where they could hear Thor yelling at the top of his lungs to find the criminals who had dented his armor, destroyed his weapons, and wreaked his bedroom. But the main thing that had set him off, was that his hair had been changed so that it was flying around his waist and was a hot pink colour.

Verity couldn't help but smile a little, for it had been _her_ idea to change it to that colour. Loki raised an eyebrow at her in interest, saying, "He will get over it. And it won't last for very long. In no time at all, he will be back to his old self. Just with all of his possessions wrecked!"

By this time, Loki was in a full fit of laughter, and Verity couldn't help but laugh as well. Yes. It was very satisfying to see Thor lose it.

She sighed and fell back next to Loki, who was still chuckling to himself. She still didn't like lying, after all, her name meant 'truth'. But as long as no one asked her about it, then she didn't have to say anything.

Verity smiled a little to herself, thinking of all of the adventures she had with Loki. But this one topped them all.

"You're not going to go back and tell Heimdall what has happened, are you?" Loki asked, pulling Verity out of her thoughts.

She shook her head, saying, "He mostly already knows about it. But he doesn't go too hard on me anymore." Verity looked down at the ground sadly as she added, "He wants me to stop hanging out with you."

Loki's eyebrows shot straight up into his hair as he exclaimed, "ME?! But, why would he want such a silly little thing like that?"

Verity shrugged, explaining, "Maybe he thinks that you are a bad influence on me. I do not know."

Again a smile twitched at the side of Loki's mouth, making Verity groan, "What?! Why do you look at me like that?"

He just shrugged, saying, "Nothing. I was just thinking about that day we first met."

Verity's cheeks went into a sate of bright red, as she whispered, "When I saw you as a grey monster. You promised that you wouldn't talk about that."

Loki gave a small smile and replied quietly, "I am sorry, Verity. It is just... I always thought of you as a delicate, beautiful creature. I never thought that I could be so lucky to have you as a friend."

"Loki!" Verity pushed his shoulder away, but couldn't help smiling. She knew that it would be impossible for them to marry. He was the Alfather's son, and Loki was a year older than she was. But that didn't stop her from imagining what her life would be like if she were to marry Loki.

She sighed and shook her head. 'I am 13 years old! This child's play will end in the years to come. He will marry someone far better than you!' Verity told herself as she tried to hide what she thinking from Loki, who was looking at her curiously.

Finally, having enough of being stared at, Verity cleared her throat and said, "We should get back. I think Thor has finished yelling."

She stood up, and started to walk away when a hand grabbed her wrist, making her stop. She turned around and saw Loki looking at her in concern. "What is it?" He asked in quiet and gentle voice.

Verity took a shaky breath in and said, "It is nothing."

Loki looked down at the ground, but Verity could still see his eyes, being a head shorter than he was. The mischief in his eyes had been replaced by a great sadness.

"I..." His voice cracked, making him stop. Loki cleared his throat and began again. "I love you, Lady Verity."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

"Brother! Where are you going?" Thor yelled after Loki who had been trying to sneak away from the party without anyone knowing.

"I must go, Thor." Loki said as he stopped and looked around at his brother. Thor smiled at him, saying, "If you are going to spend this time with Lady Verity, I must tell you that you could do much better!"

Loki's eye twitched slightly as he responded, "I am twenty years of age, Thor. I can chose who I spend my time with."

Thor gave a great bark of laughter as he placed his arm around his younger brother's shoulders. "I know this, Loki. I am only saying that Father would not approve of your choice!"

At this, Loki pulled himself away from Thor. Quickly, he trotted down the palace steps, away from his brother's bear-like hug. "I chose who I chose, Thor!" He called over his shoulder as he walked towards the palace doors, "Father must live with it!"

Before Thor could reply, Loki pushed the doors open and went out into the cool night air. Without pausing, he strode over to the courtyard, where Verity was sitting, not knowing that Odin was watching his every move from a balcony above him.

"Loki." Verity stood up as Loki came into view, strands of hair flying around her face from her plait. Her eyes sparkled as Loki came closer to her.

"I began to think that you had forgotten me." Verity said quietly as he drew her in for a hug. "How could I forget you?" Loki replied quietly as he held her close to him.

Silently, Verity smiled to herself, closing her ever seeing eyes. Loki sighed softly as he felt the warmth radiating inside her. When the night became cooler and Verity started to shiver however, they went inside to Loki's room.

"Father is on duty tonight. Overlooking all of the realms." Verity told Loki once they were sitting on the cushions in the room. Loki smiled at her as he passed her a warm drink for the freezing night air, asking, "Can you see him?"

Verity took a sip before looking towards the gate where her father now stood, watching all of the worlds. "Yes." She whispered quietly, looking to where Heimdall was watching.

"Good." Loki said quietly, staring at her with loving eyes. Verity turned her head so that she was looking into his eyes. She closed her eyes briefly before opening them again.

Loki frowned, asking, "What is it?"

Verity gave a little laugh and waved her hand slightly, saying, "Oh, it's just that... the grey monster was there when..." Her voice wavered as she tried not to think about the way she always saw Loki after watching distant things up close.

Loki placed his hand on top of hers. Verity looked down at his hand, which was the same fair skinned colour as hers. "Do not think about it, if it makes you uncomfortable." Loki told her quietly as he moved closer to her.

Verity shook her head and said, "I'll try."

He smiled at her, before kissing her gently on the cheek. Verity closed her eyes, her heart beating very fast. When her cup fell from her hands to the floor, neither of them noticed it.

*The next morning*

"Loki!" Thor banged on the door in front of him, shouting his brothers name over and over, trying to wake him. He stopped as he heard the sound of movement behind the door. After a few moments, Thor started to beat on the door again, shouting, "Loki! Open up!"

The door opened to reveal Loki's tired, pale face with messed up hair. He looked at Thor as he asked, "What is it, Brother?"

"Father would like you and Lady Verity to go to the gate." Thor rumbled loud enough for anyone else to hear that might be in the room beyond. Loki frowned and looked over his shoulder, before turning back to Thor.

"Who are you talking to?" He asked, making Thor's eyebrows shoot up into his golden hair. "I thought Lady Verity was in there with you."

Loki tilted his head and asked, "Why?"

"Because you look like you haven't slept half the night!" Thor cried, starting to get a little annoyed. Loki smiled a little and told his brother, "I was reading, if you must know. Why does Father wish to see me, and Lady Verity?"

Thor shrugged and said, "He did not tell me. But you should hurry to the gate."

Loki nodded and said, just before shutting the door, "I will keep that in mind."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Loki walked along the bridge that had a thousand colours flying through it, with Verity beside him. They were standing apart, acting like they hardly knew each other, as if they were never friends.

When they came to stand in front of the gate, Loki turned to Verity and said, "I am sorry to drag you into this, Lady Verity."

Verity bobbed her head slightly as she stepped into the dome-like building. Loki sighed heavily before following.

He saw Verity's father, Heimdall standing by the side as he walked to stand next to Verity in front of Odin, the Alfather.

Odin stared at the two young people with a thunderous look on his face, but his voice was strong and steady as he spoke to them, saying, "It has come to my attention that the two of you, have been spending the last few nights together. Do you have anything to say?"

Loki stared straight pass his father, his head held high, as he said, "No. I do not."

Verity stared down at the ground as she tried to shake her head, battling with herself not to tell the king of Asgard and her father what had happened the night before.

Odin looked at her as he asked, "What is troubling your mind, Verity?"

SNAP!

Verity couldn't hold her tongue any longer.

"I am so sorry, my king." She cried, tears spilling down her face, "I know it was wrong! But I love Loki..." She could not continue, and Loki tried to keep his face expressionless, but Odin saw Loki's eyes slide over to Verity in a loving way.

Odin sighed and said at last, "This cannot continue. But it also cannot go unpunished."

With that, he placed his staff into the key of the gate, powering up the Bifrost. He then led Verity in front of the gate.

Loki stepped forward, readying to pull her away from Odin, but stopped as his father turned on him, saying, "Loki! I might be willing to let her continue living in Asgard, if you tell me that she means nothing to you, and that you will never meet again."

Loki stopped in his tracks, trying to muster all of his strength. "I... She means nothing to me."

Odin looked at him sadly, before saying, "Then you will not care what she earns."

Loki's eyes widened as Verity was banished from Asgard to Midgard. He tried to chase after her, but she was gone before he could grab her. Tears weld up in his eyes as he turned to his father and yelled, "WHY?! PUNISH ME! Not her!"

Odin stared at his youngest son sadly as he told him, "I am punishing you. Both of you."

Loki stared at him, hatred burning in his eyes, before he turned and ran back to the palace. Once he had reached his room, Loki threw the door shut, panting and pacing the room.

Finally, all of his emotions came out. Loki tilted his head back and yelled at the top of lungs, in pain and misery. Magic flew everywhere, knocking everything over and creating giant dents in the walls of the room. Everyone in the palace could hear and feel his rage, as his voice rang through the great, glittering halls, that shook with the amount of magic flying around his body.

When he had finally stopped, Loki was on his knees, panting heavily. Then he swore to himself, that Odin was going to pay.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Verity fell very heavily on the hard ground of Midgard, knocking herself out. When she came to, she looked around in desperation. She was in a dry, dead land.

"Loki?" She called through the dark. Verity looked up to see little white dots filling the sky. Stars. A great dread overwhelmed her as she realized that the bifrost was gone, and that she had been banished.

A sound coming from her right, made Verity look around to see two moving lights heading towards her. She tried to stand, and felt a great pain in her left arm. It was then that she knew that she had been striped of all of her magical powers.

Grinding her teeth, Verity stood and started to run from the creature that made a lot of noise. She ran till she came to a big rock, which hid behind till the creature had gone.

But instead of moving on, the creature stopped and then a sound like a door closing came to Verity's ears. Then she heard the sound of voices.

She peeped around the rock and saw two more lights being held by midgardians. Verity let out a small sigh and edged around the rock so that the people could see her.

There was a man and a woman, and the woman gasped when she saw her. "Are you alright?" She called to the strange woman, wearing a silk dress and an armor breastplate. She was holding her arm as if it hurt her, her hair was jet-black, and her eyes were a very clear amber.

Verity nodded slightly to the man and woman who were helping her towards the creature, which they called 'Car'. The world seem to fade slightly as Verity stumbled, putting more weight on the man. Her arm hurt very much and she couldn't heal her wounds.

"We should get her to a hospital." The man had a gruff voice, and Verity wondered for a moment what a 'hospital' was, before she lost conscious.

***Later***

Verity groaned slightly as she woke in strange clothes, in a strange room, everything was the colour white. There was also a man wearing a white coat with some kind of weapon around his neck.

The man looked up and saw that she was awake. He placed down the board he was holding and went to her side, holding the weapon. Verity tried to move away from the weapon, but her arm gave her pain, so she thought it best not to move. The man placed the cool surface on her chest and put two things in his ears.

After waiting for a while, the man removed the 'weapon' and smiled at her. "Hi. I'm Dr. Binn. What's your name?"

"Verity, Daughter of Heimdall." Verity said quietly, trying to ignore the pain in her arm.

The man nodded and picked up his board again, writing on it. "Do you know how you got here?" He asked her. Verity nodded slightly, but said nothing.

The 'Dr. Binn' placed down his board again and frowned at her in concern, before asking, "What country are you from?"

Verity frowned as she asked quietly, "Country?" Now the man looked quite worried, placing his hand on her forehead, saying, "What's the last thing you remember?"

"I..." Verity didn't want to tell this stranger what she had done to be banished to Midgard, but she knew that she had to say something. Then an idea came to her. "I remember being in a dry and dead place, where a beast came and chased me. Then two midgardians helped me to the creature they called 'Car'."

Thinking that she had done a good job, Verity smiled slightly at Dr. Binn. But he did not return the smile. Instead, he backed away and asked, "Do you know how you broke your arm?"

"I must have landed badly." Verity looked down at her left arm, and yelled in shock. Dr. Binn pushed her back onto the pillows as she tried to jump away from the thing that had wrapped itself around her injured arm.

"It's alright! It isn't that bad of a break. You should be able to remove the cast in a few weeks." He told her. Verity took a deep breath in and tried to concentrate on healing her arm.

But nothing happened. Now she knew that Odin had taken away all of her powers. Even her eyesight and hearing, which she had inherited from her father. A tear fell down her cheek as she thought about all of her magical powers that came from both her mother and father. She felt a hate burn in her as she thought about Odin stripping away everything about her that her parents had given her.

Then she shook her head as she thought that it would be pointless to hate the Alfather, when she had been banished to Midgard for good.

Verity opened her eyes to see that Dr. Binn was still standing there, with his hand on her right shoulder. She pushed away his hand, saying, "I am fine."

He just nodded, before scratching his head, telling her, "The people that found you in the desert are outside. Would you like to see them?"

Verity nodded slightly, as he moved to the door, calling the man and woman in. The woman ran straight over to her and hugged her gently, while the man just nodded at her.

"I'm so grateful that you're alright!" The woman said as she backed away from her. Verity smiled warmly at her, getting a grim one in return. She noticed that the midgardian looked sad, before she told her, "My name's Jill. That's my husband, Caleb. We were driving with the kids through the desert when we saw this huge light come down from the sky! We decided to see what it was when we met you!"

Verity smiled at her gratefully, saying, "Thank you, for helping me."

The woman waved her 'thanks' away, saying, "It was our pleasure. Just tell me this... do you have anywhere to stay?"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

"We're here!" Jill called to the kids in the back and Verity who was sitting in between the twin boys. Verity leaned to look at the building, which was surrounded by trees. After staying in the place called Mexico for a couple of days, the healer said that Verity could go with Jill and Cable to 'England' where Jill's older sister ran a hotel/farm.

"It's not much to look at, but my sister loves it here." Jill told Verity who nodded slightly, trying not to think about Asgard, where Loki was.

"It is very nice." She told her. Jill smiled at her and turned to face the front again. One of the boys turned to look at Verity, asking, "Have you really never flown before?"

Verity looked at him and said, "Of course I have. Just not in a beast like _that_." The boy stared at her as he asked, "How else are you going to fly?! It's not as if you can ride a bird!"

The two boys laughed, until their mother turned around and said, "Jake! Sam! That's enough!"

They stopped laughing and waited until the 'car' had stopped, before opening the doors and running to the front door of the building. Verity slowly followed them with Jill helping her.

"I'm sorry about them." Jill told her, "They're not very good at showing their manners."

Verity smiled at her as she said, "It is alright. I know someone else who is like them. He eats like a pig, and drinks like one too! He has enough manners to pass as a prince, when it is needed. But it is nothing compared to his brother's manners." Her voice trailed off as she thought about Loki and Thor.

Jill stared at her as she asked, "So you know a royal family?"

Verity nodded quietly, trying to rid her mind of those thoughts. Jill smiled at her hugely as she asked, "What are they like?"

Verity thought for a second, trying to think of a way to stop these conversation. But she needn't have worried, for Jill soon became distracted by a woman with short brown hair and blue eyes. "Katie!" Jill cried, hugging the woman after putting the bags she had been carrying.

"Jill! It's wonderful to see you again! I see you have brought a friend with you as well." The woman looked at Verity who smiled at her and said, "I am Verity, Daughter of Heimdall."

"Kate. Did you say 'Heimdall'?" Kate asked. Verity nodded as she asked, "Do you know my father?"

Kate laughed as she said, "Can't say that I do. The name just rings a bell, like I've read it from a book once." Verity smiled slightly, feeling another twitch of hatred towards Odin. But it soon turned into another sad reminded of what she once had.

***A month later***

Verity sighed heavily as she sat down on the chair that sat outside, under a tree with purple flowers that fell every now and then. She was still at the building where Kate lived, but Jill and her family had moved back to America after staying for a few weeks.

She thought back to the people that watched the box that had moving pictures on it, talking about a strange storm happening in New Mexico. Apparently some of the people in the town that sat in the middle of the desert said that there was a great thunder storm and a metal man that had fire come out of his face.

Painful thoughts came to Verity as she thought about the destroyer back in Asgard, which could only be controlled by the king. Thoughts of Thor came to her as well.

With a great effort, Verity pushed these thoughts out of her mind and tried to focus on making a flower fall and land in her palm. She closed her eyes and imagined the flower falling.

After feeling nothing on her hand, Verity opened her eyes again and saw a man standing in front of her. He had dark skin, was bald and had a batch over one eye, which reminded her of Odin.

"Hello." She said to the stranger. The man didn't smile, nor did he made any sign that he had heard her.

"I'm Director Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D." He said, making her jump slightly. Verity frowned and asked, "What do you want from me?"

Fury looked down at her with his one good eye, saying, "As I understand it, you're from Asgard."

Verity smiled a little before looking down at the ground saying, "That is where you wrong. I _was_ from Asgard. But I have been banished to Midgard. Why?"

Fury looked around him, saying, "Let's just say that we would be interested if you worked for S.H.I.E.L.D."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

It was early. Very early. So early that only the first rays of sunlight were touching the earth.

Verity was sleeping when her iPhone rang, waking her from a peaceful sleep. She groaned and felt on the bedside table for it. When she had found it, she opened her eyes so that she could see what she was doing, since she still wasn't used to it.

"Hello?" Verity said into the speaker and heard Fury's voice on the other end, saying, _"Good morning. I do hope you had a nice sleep."_

"Hi Nick. I was having a nice sleep until you called. What is it?" Verity asked as she tried to sit up, without upsetting her belly.

 _"We need you to come in."_ Fury said, with a very serious manner, which told Verity that he wasn't kidding. She groaned loudly, telling him in a very tired voice, "Nick. You know that I can't come in! I'm nearly ten months pregnant, so I could give birth at any moment!"

She heard Fury sigh as he said, _"I know. But you'll want to be here to see this. And Thor said your the only one."_

Verity frowned as she stammered, "Wait... Thor is here? On Earth? I'm the only one, what?"

 _"It's hard to explain. I've sent a helicopter to pick you up. They should be there in ten minutes."_ Then he was gone. Verity groaned loudly as she placed the phone on the bedside table. She looked down at her belly and said, "Well, looks like we are going on a trip, little one."

***3 hours later***

Verity climbed out of the copper onto the platform of the helicarrier. Fury stood there with the Black Widow. Natasha.

"Had a nice flight?" Fury asked as she came closer to the two. The copper started to fly away as they made their way inside. Verity nodded lightly before asking, "What is this all about?"

Natasha cleared her throat before saying, "We've caught Loki. He's in the glass cage."

Verity's eyes widened as she heard Loki's name. She turned to Fury for an explanation. Fury cleared his throat and offered to her to sit down, while saying, "Loki came to Earth a few nights ago, using a portal through the Tesseract. He took control of half a dozen soldiers, including Barton."

"Is he alright?" Verity asked as she sat up a little. "I've been better." She turned around and saw Clint walking towards her. He looked like he had walked through hell.

Verity stood and hugged him, asking, "How are you Clint?"

Clint shrugged as he said, "Well... I've just had a god in my head. How do you think I feel?"

Verity sighed before sitting down again, looking back at Fury. "Did you get anyone else?"

Fury nodded, looking grim. "Loki lost control of them when we took him." Verity nodded, before suddenly remembering about Thor. "You said Thor was on Earth. Where is he?"

"He's on base. We could take you to see him if you like." Natasha said, walking towards her. Before anyone could do anything else, a voice boomed through the room, "Lady Verity! It is wonderful to see you again!"

Thor walked in and hugged Verity, not noticing her baby belly. Verity hugged him back, before breaking away and looking up into his face, smiling. As usual, Thor's face was split in two by a huge smile.

"I have not seen you for nearly two years!" Thor said, while patting her on the back. "I did not expect to see you so changed as well!" He pointed to her belly. Verity blushed slightly, but smiled back, saying, "It has been long. Many things have happened since."

Thor laughed. "Of course! Father said that you had been banished to Midgard, like I have two years ago. He said to give you this if I found you."

He pulled out a small box, which Verity took and felt a wave of magic go through her hands. Verity gasped, opening the box and releasing her magic back to its rightful place.

"Oh, thank you Thor." She whispered as she made the empty box fly to the table. Fury's face was still looking a bit grim, Natasha and Clint, however, where staring at the box.

Thor laughed once again, saying, "It is my pleasure. I am sure that Director Fury has explained what has happened."

Verity shrugged slightly, looking back at Fury who sighed and told her, "I talked to Loki when he first got here, and all I can say is that he's not in his right mind."

Verity frowned as she asked, "What do you mean?"

"We were planing on letting you talk to him." Natasha told her, standing next to Clint with her arms folded.

They all nodded. Verity looked at them all, before saying, "So... let me talk to him."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

"Who's talking to who?" Tony Stark asked as he walked in with two men behind him. Verity laughed and turned around to give Tony a hug, who said, "No one told me you were going to be here. How's the future Tony doing?"

Verity sighed and told him, "We've talked about this." Tony held up his hands and back away in mock surrender.

"Are you two married?" One of the men asked. He had blonde hair, light blue eyes, and a very strong body build. Verity raised her eyebrows at him. Tony sucked in a bit of air before saying, "No we're not. I wish... but I've got Pepper. Oh, this is Steve Rogers."

Verity smiled at Steve and shook his outstretched hand. "Verity, Daughter of Heimdall."

"It's a pleasure to meet you ma'am." Steve said as he stood back. Verity nodded and turned to the second man, with brown hair, dark blue eyes, and a weak looking body. He held out his hand, saying, "Bruce Banner. It's nice to meet you."

Verity nodded at him as well, before turning back to Tony who was smiling hugely at him. She frowned slightly at him, as he told her, "Dr. Banner has breath taking anger-management issues."

"You mean... the Hulk?" Verity asked, uncertain whether she had got the name correct. Bruce looked around him, uncomfortably. "Oh, I'm sorry." Verity gasped once she caught on to what had disturbed him.

"No, no. It's okay." Bruce told her. Verity gave him a small smile before turning back to Fury, "Can I see Loki now, Nick?"

Fury nodded slightly, saying, "You can."

"Whoa, wait a moment." Tony said, holding up his hand, "You're saying that you're going to let Verity, and future Tony, go into the same room as that maniac?"

"No." Fury said, "I'm letting Verity, and the future director, talk to him, while he's in his cell."

"Why do you keep calling Lady Verity's child different names?" Thor asked, his face looking very confused. Verity groaned and told everyone, "I'll will name my child, what I want to name it!"

Fury and Tony looked over at her, looking very embarrassed. Steve's eyebrows were high on his forehead, while Bruce kept looking between Verity and the two men. Natasha had a very bored expression on her face, while Clint leaned against the rail, yawning.

Thor was still staring around him in confusion as Fury cleared his throat and said, "I'm sorry that you had to see that. Anyway, let's go talk to this maniac."

***Loki's glass cage***

Loki smirked at Fury as he walked in front of the cage. "Well... back so soon?"

Fury stooped on the other side of the cage, Loki still smirking at him, as he said, "I've brought you a couple of visitors."

Loki gave a breathy laugh as he hissed, "Someone to claim the whereabouts of the Tesseract?" Fury stared at him blankly with his one good eye. "Not exactly." He said.

Again, Loki gave a laugh, saying, "I highly doubt that anyone on this thing could find it. Even I know not where it is. But I will play along. Who are my visitors..." His voice trailed off as he turned around and caught sight of Verity.

Thor was standing next to her, Mjolnir swinging from his hand. But Loki paid no attention to this, as he stared at Verity. She looked a little older than when he last saw her, her eyes bright and shining with tears, none of which fell down her soft cheeks.

"Verity." Loki breathed. Verity smiled at him lovingly as she whispered, "Hi Loki."

Fury walked back over to where the two Asgardians stood, saying, "Miss Verity wanted to talk to you. Maybe you'll get some sense back into your head."

He stopped on the other side of Verity, who was still looking at Loki, tears swimming in her eyes. Loki tried to take a breath, but it was shaky. His heart was beating very hard against his chest, twisting and turning as he watched very move she made.

"We'll leave you to talk things over." Fury said, and turned back to leave the room with Thor, though he went a little reluctantly.

"How are you?" Verity asked, once they were alone. Loki gave a small smile and said, "Well, part from the fact that I have been caught, and placed in a cage. I am fine. What about you?"

Verity looked down at the ground and said, "Oh, I am not too sure whether I can stand to say. I missed you." She whispered the last words, so Loki could barely catch what she had said.

He swallowed, and realized that his throat felt clogged. He cleared it and said, while walking around, "I missed you, also." Verity looked up at him and said, "Thor told me that you have been missing for nearly two years. Where were you?"

Loki smiled at her, in his mischievous way, saying, "I have been on worlds that Odin never even knew about. I have seen things no other has seen."

Verity's eyes widened as she asked, "Are you saying that you have been in the lands of the Chitauri?"

Loki's smile widened as he nodded slightly, thinking that Verity would be proud. Instead, she placed her hand over her mouth and whispered in horror, "Why? Why would you do such a thing, Loki?"

"Odin lied to me. He will get what he deserves." Loki sneered, his smile disappearing. Verity frowned at him as she asked, "What do you mean?"

Loki's eyes burned with hatred as he thought about Odin, "My true heritage."

Verity gasped, placing a hand to her belly, which looked quite normal to Loki since he wasn't looking at her belly. "It _is_ true? That you are a Frost Giant?"

Loki lip twitched as he gave a curt nod. Verity closed her eyes and said quietly to herself, "Of course. It all makes sense now."

"What do you mean?" Loki asked abruptly. Verity opened her eyes again as she said, "I always saw you as a grey beast. That is why I never walked near you when we were young. But then I saw you as everyone else saw you, that day in the stables."

Loki nodded, his left eye twitching slightly now, as he remember grooming a horse with Verity that day. Verity shook her head, her eyes shinning, as she started to back away.

"The Loki I knew wouldn't care about it." She whispered as Loki stared at her. He curled his lip back as he asked, "What do you mean?"

Verity kept shaking her head, saying, "You are not the Loki I knew. You are not Loki of Asgard! You're not the father of _my_ child!" She stopped, tears spilling down her face as she whispered before she left, "You are not my Loki."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

Verity sighed and placed her head in her hands, knowing that she would never be able to stop thinking, however hard she tried, about what Loki had turned into and what she had said to him.

She was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't notice somebody sitting next to her, until they spoke. "I'm sorry."

Verity looked up to see Tony leaning forward, with his hands clasped in front of him. "What for?" She asked.

"I didn't realize that..." Tony stopped, rethinking what he had been about to say, "Loki's the father?" Verity nodded slightly, remembering that everyone had been watching her conversation with Loki.

Tony cleared his throat as he said, "You know, it must have taken a lot of guts to say the things you said." Verity gave him a small smile as she nodded again, not able to talk about it.

"Isn't there a way to..." Tony asked after a long moment of silence. Verity frowned as she asked in a croaky voice, "A way to, what?" Tony shrugged before adding, "To make him... _sane?"_

Verity thought for a few seconds before nodding very slowly, saying, "There might be. But I think we would all have to talk to him."

Tony clapped his hands, smiling at her hugely, exclaiming, "Great! So all we need to do is go to his cage and talk."

"No." Verity shook her head, telling him, "He needs to be outside of the cage. He needs to know that he can trust us. But not in the room with the cage... it would not look too good."

"Wait a mo'" Tony held up his hands as he asked, "So you want to talk to him in a different room, outside of his cage, where he could do his... tricks?" Verity nodded, staring at Tony's face which had disbelief written all over it.

"Okay." Tony placed his hands on his knees, before asking, "Which room do you want to talk to him in?"

***Loki's cage***

Loki sat crossed legged on the floor, since there were no seats in the cage with see through walls, thinking about the shock and surprise he had felt when Verity had spoken to him like he was a stranger.

A door opened on the other side of his cage, and Thor walked in with the Captain and Iron Man. Loki looked at them curiously as the Iron Man opened the door of his cage.

"What a surprise, Thor." Loki gave a little smirk as Thor walked in with cuffs. "I was wondering when you were going to take me back to the Alfather. Though I must ask, how are you going to take me back to Asgard with the Bifrost, or the Tesseract?"

Thor clapped the cuffs around his wrists, not too lightly, before saying, "We're not returning to Asgard."

Loki raised his eyebrows as he asked, "Where are you taking me then? Are you going to burn me, until I tell you where the Tesseract is?"

"No, we're going to take you to a room where we, along with Verity, are going to talk to you." Tony said, beneath his helmet. Loki's eye twitched as he said quickly, "I do not wish to see Lady Verity."

Steve came over and grabbed his right arm, since Thor was holding his left, while saying, "Too bad."

Loki tried to stay where he was, but with Tony leading the way, Thor and Steve dragging him along, he had no choice but to walk with them till they reached a room with a couple of couches.

Clint was standing with an arrow in his bow, while Natasha sat on one of the couches, holding a staff that Loki had bought with him to Midgard. The staff with the mind stone was else where.

Steve dropped Loki's arm, and Thor pushed Loki to sit next to Natasha, who was now pointing the staff at him. Loki eyed her, a hint of fear in his eyes. He didn't lose sight of the staff for a moment.

"What now, Thor?" He asked, still watching Natasha, "We wait till Lady Verity comes?"

"Uh, yeah." Tony said, popping up his helmet to have a drink of alcohol. Loki would have given him a look of disgust, if he wasn't watching the staff.

Bruce walked into the room, looking down at some notes he had made. He looked up and saw everyone else in the room. "Oh." Was the only thing he said, before placing his notes on a table.

"Do we get to ask him about that staff now, or..." Tony asked after finishing his drink. Thor looked at the staff, then at Loki, who hadn't dropped his gaze of the staff, from the moment he stepped into the room.

"What does it do, Loki?" Thor asked, trying to sound gentle. Loki took a breathe before saying, "It is rather unsettling."

Tony frowned and opened his mouth, making Natasha look at him. But before he could say anything, Loki pounced and grabbed the staff from Natasha's grip, making a white ball of light fly through the room.

Everyone watched as the ball hit Tony's chest plate. He looked down his chest in disbelief, before looking up at Loki. He lifted up his hand, and was about to fire, when his glove fell off, showing a small hand in its place.

Everyone watched in horror as Tony's armor began to fall off, one by one, then watched as his head became smaller. They all stared at Tony, who was fighting his way out of the maze of armor around him. The clothes he had been wearing beneath the armor still fitted him perfectly, but...

Tony was a child.

Thor turned his head to look at Loki, whose jaw was hanging open. Loki turned his own head to look at the staff, before saying, "I did not expect that to happen."

Natasha tried to snatch the staff back, but was turned into a child her self. Thor lugged himself at Loki and battled for hold of it, making white balls fly through the room, turning first Bruce, then Steve into children, all of their clothes still fitting them perfectly.

Clint was trying to dog all of the balls of white light, but he too was soon turned into a child. Now only Loki and Thor were still themselves, fighting for the staff.

Then, two white balls came out and hit, first Thor, then Loki.

When Loki next opened his eyes, he was standing on the floor, the seat of the couch level with his eyes. Thor stood next to him, trying to keep the staff from falling onto its side.

But he lost his grip. The staff titled towards him, and missed him by an inch as Loki threw himself at Thor, pushing both of them out of the way.

Loki quickly sat up after the staff had landed with a thump. Thor sat up as well, looking at the spot where he had been. He looked over to where his brother sat and hugged him.

"Um, okay Thor. You can let go." Loki said, while trying to get out of Thor's tight grip.

Thor let go and backed away, looking at his brother with gratitude on his face. Loki gave him a small nod, feeling that an understanding had come between them.

'Maybe I am _not_ in my right mind.' Loki frowned a little as he thought about this. But before he could dwell on it for long, three small bodies threw themselves on to him, punching and kicking.

Tony, Clint and Natasha were in the group, while Steve was cut between calming Bruce down and stopping the others with Thor, who was trying to pick up his hammer.

Loki yelled, punched, kicked and threw his fire balls at the attacking avengers, but they were too much for him. Eventually, he stopped fighting and curled up into a ball, trying to protect himself from them.

***Out in the hall***

Verity took a deep breath and smiled at Fury, saying, "Don't worry. If everything goes to plan, Loki will be in his right mind before long." She turned the knob that her hand was resting on, and an explosion of sound came down on her.

"What the..." Fury said quietly as he saw the children that were fighting in the room, all of them looking like mini versions of the avengers and Loki. Verity's eyes were very wide as she shouted above the noise, "What is happening?!"

Everyone stopped fighting, turning to look at the new comers in the room. Verity saw that they were all wearing the clothes that they had been before, as if they had shrunk down to fit their owners, but seeing all of them as children was unsettling.

Thor had short blonde hair, no bread, and was pulling Tony away from the battle; he seemed to be about seven. Tony also had no beard, but other than that, his appearance was pretty much the same, and he looked like he was around four. Natasha might have been three, while Clint, who was still trying to fight, was about five.

Steve and Bruce could have been six, and they were standing a little away, Bruce a light shade of green. Verity's eyes widened even more when she saw Loki. He looked to be about four or five, he was covered in bruises, one of his eyes were shut and blood was dripping from his mouth.

"Excuse us a moment, won't you?" Tony asked, finally breaking out of Thor's grip. "I have to kick Reindeer-Games butt here."

He started towards Loki, but stopped as Loki spat at him, blood running down his left cheek. Tony touched it, before staring at Loki in hatred and curling his fist into a ball.

Verity stepped forward and picked up the staff, making everyone freeze.

"Lady Verity, would you be able to change us back?" Thor asked politely. Verity sighed and said, "Only if all of you back off!"

Loki saw his chance and backed away as far as he could from Tony. Everyone else stood in line in front of Verity.

"I need some coffee." Fury said, shaking his head and closing the door behind him as he left the room. Verity took a breath and closed her eyes.

"Try not to mess up." Tony told her. Verity opened one eye and glared at him. Tony closed his mouth and looked down at the ground. Verity closed her eyes again.

Everyone waited for something to happen. "Why did we have to turn into four year olds?" Tony complained as nothing happened. Everyone told him to keep quiet, but he continued, "I'm just saying, why couldn't we be teenagers or something, so that I can give _Loki_ a good punch!"

Verity gasped as a huge ball of white overwhelmed them all.

A blink later, Verity saw that the people in front of her were teenagers, along with herself, that her belly was being kicked by her child, and that she was falling backwards with great pain, the staff falling from her hands and landing on the floor, breaking into a thousand pieces.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

Within the blink of an eye, they were all teenagers, the staff had fallen and shattered into thousands of pieces, everyone was staring around them in surprise. Except for Loki. He watched in horror as Verity fell, her eyes wide with fear, pain, and shock.

Two steps, and Loki was next to her. He placed his left hand behind her head, on the top of her neck, while holding her up by the waist with his right, kneeling down so that Verity was resting on his knee.

"Loki." Verity chocked, tears spilling down her face while she tried to hold her bulging belly. "Loki. It hurts."

"Shh." Loki whispered in a comforting voice, telling her, "Calm. You were never made to bear children at such a young age, and the sudden change of form has weakened you. If you do not rest..."

Verity stared up at him her amber eyes wide, while she whispered what he was going to say, "The child will die. But I can't rest. There is too much pain!"

Loki closed his eyes, breathing deeply, while placing his right hand on her left shoulder, reciting magic words through his head. For a few seconds, Loki kept his hand on her shoulder, before moving it to close Verity's unseeing eyes.

Then he gently placed her on the ground, before standing up and facing the avengers. Thor bowed his head slightly, Bruce was still a light green colour, Natasha had a few tears in her eyes, Clint had his back to him but was still watching the event over his shoulder, Steve stood very straight, staring into the distance.

"You killed her!" Tony shouted, launching himself into the air and onto Loki. Immediately, everyone was around the two battling teens, trying to get Tony off of Loki.

"GUYS!" Natasha shouted, getting everyone's attention. Obviously she had called out to them more than once. She was crouching beside Verity, two fingers on her neck.

"She's still alive. Just asleep." Natasha told them. Tony stared at Loki in surprise as he let go of the front of his clothes. Loki straightened up and brushed himself off, as if Tony was disgusting and didn't deserve to touch him, before saying, "I just put her into a deep sleep. That way she will be able to regain her energy."

Steve frowned, while Clint asked, "So... you don't want to kill her?"

Thor turned his head at Hawkeye, inquiring, "Why would my brother want to murder Lady Verity?"

"Because he's a maniac!" Tony shouted, pointing at Loki, who backed away a little. "There's no telling what he would do! Oh, and we don't have any way of getting back to our original forms, because the staff is broken!"

Now everyone remembered that Tony was right. They were stuck in this form.

Loki cleared his throat and said, "It will wear off." Everyone stared at him as he continued, "Since Verity is weak, and the staff is broken, we are now only in a temporary form."

"Brilliant!" Tony threw up his hands in mock celebration, before saying, "How long till it's gone?"

Everyone stared at Loki as he bit his top lip and muttered, "Three days."

Before anyone could say anything, Fury opened the door and dropped his cup of coffee as he saw the scene in front of him. Loki quickly ran to Verity's side, shielding her by holding her close to him.

"WHAT! THE! HELL?!" Fury shouted at the top of his voice, causing two other agents to run into the room.

Tony held up his hands to Fury, saying, "Look... I know this looks bad... but we can explain."

"First, Lady Verity must have a better resting place, other than the floor." Thor and Loki spoke at the same time. Loki was now standing with Verity in his arms. Everyone raised their eyebrows slightly at how gently he was holding her, as if she was water and that she could burst at any moment, going through his fingers.

Loki stared at them all hard, until Fury and Tony led the way to a medical room, with everyone following Loki.

***3 Hours Later***

"So you're saying, that Verity changed you all into _teenagers_ and collapsed?!" Fury hissed out of the corner of his mouth, staring at the avengers, and Loki.

Tony was holding an ice bag on top of his head, having told Fury everything over and over again for the last three hours. Clint had fallen asleep in his chair a few hours before, while Natasha was trying to bang her head on the table. Bruce and Steve had been filling in parts of the story, while Thor was looking very guilty at Loki, who was chained into his chair with a mussel over his mouth.

His eyes were tired, and seemed to burn through everyone he looked at. At that moment, he was looking at Thor, was trying to put on an apologetic face.

Fury groaned and asked, "So Loki had nothing to do with turning the worlds mightiest heroes into teenagers?"

Steve shook his head, saying, "No. It was an accident, one that could have cost Verity her life."

Loki was now staring at Steve, who shifted uncomfortably in his chair, knowing that the god was staring at him with his deadly gaze that seemed to be able to wake the dead.

"Okay. So after Verity was put into a coma by Loki, what happened?" Fury asked, placing a hand over his forehead. Bruce cleared his throat and said, "Tony attacked Loki, because Tony thought he had killed Verity."

Loki tried to say something, and everyone turned to look at him, Tony asking, "What did he say?"

Thor frowned and guessed, "I think my brother was trying to say something about the staff." Natasha gasped (most unlike herself) as Loki nodded, telling everyone that's what he had said.

"We forgot about the staff!" Steve cried out, clapping a hand to his forehead. Fury frowned, asking in a deadly voice, "What about the staff?"

Everybody (except Clint) shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Tony swallowed and muttered, "It's broken."

Fury glared at him with his eye, saying, "You broke the staff?"

Everyone nodded, Clint giving a faint snore, Loki glaring at Tony as he pointed his finger at him and said, "It was Loki."

Again, Loki tried to speak, and again it was Thor who translated, "He said, 'Verity dropped the staff, which caused it to break.'" Steve raised his eyebrows and asked, "Didn't he say something else?"

Thor gave a small nod and said, "He did. But I dare not repeat what he said about the Man of Iron."

Tony's jaw dropped as he tried to think of a good reply, finally saying in a lame voice, "Oh yeah? Well... he's insane."

Natasha tried to hide a giggle, but Tony heard her and glared at her, trying his best to imitate Loki, which just made her giggle even more behind her hand.

Everybody raised their eyebrows at the girlish laughter coming out of her. Even Fury was looking at her with interest.

"Okay." Fury cleared his throat and turned back to Tony, continuing, "How long do you stay like this?"

Loki said something. Thor translated, "'Three days.'" Everyone nodded, and Tony was about to say something when a doctor came into the room and whispered something into Fury's ear.

"What is it?" Steve asked, as the man left. Fury's sighed and bent down, placing his hands on top of the table, saying, "Verity is..." He couldn't continue.

Loki's eyes widened as he understood what had happened and tried to stand up, but the chains kept him in place as he tried to shout. Everyone turned to Thor, whose eyes were very wide as he tried to decipher what his brother was shouting.

"Loki says that he must see Verity. He also says that she will die if she gives birth in this form." Thor told everyone. Everybody stood up, Natasha said, "Well, lets unchain him and take him to her room! Maybe he could delay it."

So everybody left the room, Loki near the front, leaving the sleeping Clint behind.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11:

Everybody ran at top speed to the medical room where they had left Verity. Loki still had handcuffs and his mussel on, but no muttering came from him, making Tony frown very deeply at him.

Fury stopped in front of the door, which had been locked. For a moment, nobody did anything, then Loki tried to say something which Thor translated to, "'Knock on the door.'"

Fury nodded and knocked a couple of times. They waited. Then a doctor wearing a white mask came out and said, "We can't have visitors right now. She's giving birth!" With that, he whisked back into the room, closing the door behind him.

Everybody was about to sit on the seats in the hall, before they heard screaming coming from the room. All of their spines turned to ice as they heard that scream, that was dripping with pain. Great pain.

Loki yell and started to pace up and down the hall, shaking his head and muttering. Thor stared at his brother with wide eyes, making everyone wonder what Loki was saying.

"That is not so, Brother." Thor said, making Loki stop in his tracks. He walked over to him and placed his hand on Loki's slim shoulders, saying, "The doctors here are very good. And Man of Iron tells me that many have given birth at such a young age."

Everybody stared at the two gods. Loki muttered something, making Thor bite his lip and turn to Tony, asking, "Has anyone given birth the age of 14?"

Tony thought for a second, before nodding slowly. Thor gave a bark of laughter and turned back to Loki, saying loudly, "There! You see? There has been births at that age."

Again, Loki said something, making Thor's face fall. Tony swallowed and asked, "What did he say?"

Thor glanced at him, before telling him, "He would like to know how many of them have survived?" Now it was Tony who was biting his lip before saying in a small unsure voice, "A few."

Loki gave a muffled yell, before shrugging off his brother's hand and sitting down on a seat, placing his head in between his arms. Everybody shifted uncomfortably on the spot, before sitting down as well, but a tiny bit away from Loki who seemed to be grieving.

An hour later, Clint came wondering into the hall, stretching and yawning while saying, "Hey guys. How long have you been here?"

"About an hour." Natasha answered, moving so that he could sit next to her. Tony was sitting next to her, watching Loki over the lap of the sleeping Thor, whose snores seemed to vibrate through the floor. Clint glanced at Loki, asking, "What's up with him?"

Natasha also looked over at Loki, before saying, "I'm not sure. I think he's sulking."

Clint gave small nod, leaned back into his chair and stayed like that for a while, before sitting up again and asking, "Why are we all just sitting here?"

"Because Verity is giving birth, and we're waiting to hear what happens." Steve, who was staring at the ceiling, told him with a dull voice, like he was bored half to death.

Again, Clint nodded and lent back in his chair.

***2 Hours Later***

Everybody was either asleep, or falling to sleep.

Steve's head was resting on the back of the chair with his eyes closed, Bruce was nodding, but trying to stay awake, Natasha was stretched out on the seats, while Clint was doing the same on the floor beneath her. Thor was in a state of deep sleep, with Tony still watching Loki's every move. But Loki hadn't moved an inch since he sat down, he was so still you would almost think that he _was_ asleep.

Fury was pacing in front of the door, waiting for any kind of news. He was about to sit back down, when the door opened and the doctor popped his head out.

"How's it going in there?" Fury asked in a hushed voice. The doctor looked behind him into the room, before closing the door and saying, "Everything's fine Sir."

Fury gave a small sigh of relief before asking, "How's Verity?"

The doctor tried to give a small smile, saying, "She's resting. Straight after the baby was born, she fell asleep. A lot of her energy is used up, so I can't let anyone in there for a while."

"I'll get her transferred to Stark's tower." Fury said. He bit his lip slightly before asking, "What about her baby?"

"Ah," The doctor shifted uncomfortably on the spot, trying to think about what to say. "Well... The baby's healthy, very healthy. But..."

Fury raised his eyebrow at him, asking, "But... what?"

The doctor cleared his throat before saying, "I don't see how long he's going to survive without his mother's milk. Sir... I don't know what to do. I mean... this is a child born from a different race than us, I don't know what he needs."

Fury sighed heavily, looking over his shoulder at Loki, who had risen his head slightly, meaning that he was listening. Fury looked back to the doctor, and saying, "Just look after him the best you can. I'll have to have a little talk to some gods."

The doctor nodded before going back into the room, leaving Fury behind to deal with the teenagers in front of him.

Tony stood up and said, "Will you need the others awake, or are you going to talk to Thor while he's asleep?" Fury opened his mouth but heard muffled speech, and looked at Loki.

"What did you say?" Tony asked, placing a hand behind his ear. But when Loki stared at him with red, burning eyes, he placed his hand down again. Loki grunted, then turned his head so that he was staring at Thor.

For a while, nothing happened. Then Thor woke so suddenly that he fell off his seat, waking everybody else that had been asleep, while sending vibrations through the floor.

Thor quickly got to his feet, looking around him with an invisible weapon clenched in his hand. But, when he saw where he was, Thor put his hand down cleared his throat, and asked, "What happened?"

"What happened is," Fury began looking at all of the teenagers in front of him, "Verity has given birth, and she's resting easy now."

"Ah!" Thor gave his bark of laughter, turning to Loki and saying, "Did I not tell you that Lady Verity would be fine, Brother?" Loki mumbled something, and Thor chuckled to himself, turning to Fury and telling him, "Go on."

"Well," Fury continued, getting everybody's attention, "while she's asleep, we're going to transfer her to Stark's tower."

"What?!" Tony gave a strangled shout, before clearing his throat and saying in a small voice, "That's fine."

Fury cleared his throat loudly, "While we're moving Verity, I will allow all of you an hour in New York to buy anything that you'll need. Stark, I presume you have no problem with paying for everything?"

Tony gave a small nod, staring down at the ground.

"Good." Fury turned back to the rest, since he was facing Tony, but before he could say anything, Steve said, "Hang on. What about Miss Verity's baby?"

Loki spoke in his muffled voice, causing Thor to stare at him with wide eyes and saying, "What?" Loki nodded a little, shrugging his shoulders as if he didn't see what the big deal was.

"What did he say?" Clint asked, while rubbing one of his eyes. Thor took a breath before saying, but without losing sight of his brother, "He said that Verity had given birth to a son, and that they'll have to take him with her to the tower."

Natasha gasped, clapping her hands over her mouth, making everyone turn and stare at her. This was _so_ not like her.

Fury cleared his throat and gained all of their attention again, "He's right. Verity and her son will be taken to Stark Tower, while you all go shopping. Except for Loki."

Thor turned to stare at him, crying out, "What are you planing on doing with my brother?"

"We're going to keep an eye on him." Fury said, looking at Loki with his good eye.

"Loki stays with me." Thor said, standing in front of Loki and crossing his arms, showing that he wasn't going to let anyone take his brother away without his approval.

Loki and shrugged and rolled his eyes, saying something. But, as usual, they didn't understand. Fury groaned and said, "Fine. Loki can go with you to the tower. But I'm sending three agents with you."

"That won't be necessary." Natasha said, giving Loki a small smile, which caused him to stare at her in disgust.

Fury put his hands to his temples, almost shouting, "Whatever! If you want to risk being around him, alone, that's fine by me! I'll send agents to the tower on the third day to come and get him once he's back to his grown state."

With that Fury started to walk down the hall, leaving the avengers to exchange looks with each other, and look at Loki uncomfortably.

*** A few hours later***

"Right. Did you get everything you wanted?" Tony asked, walking next to Bruce, who was pushing a trolley, and sipping out of a cup with a straw. Natasha pushed her and Clint's trolley so that they were side by side, saying, "Yeah! I love it here! I can't believe I've never come here before!"

Tony, Bruce and Clint exchanged worried glances at each other. Natasha wasn't herself. Tony looked around at the three other teenagers that were walking towards them.

Steve, who still had the solider serum in his system, was pushing the trolley, which had very little in it, while Thor, who was looking around him in awe, and Loki walked a little behind him. Tony frowned as he saw that Loki, who didn't have chains or a mussel anymore, was staring down at the ground, with his hands on his side.

It looked like Loki was concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other, which made Tony frown at his behavior. He had been sure that the god would be looking around him like Thor, but he didn't even seem to notice what was happening around him.

"Well, I think we should all go and pay for this stuff." Bruce said, walking towards the counter. Tony went through first, telling the lady there that all of the stuff in the trolleys was going to be paid using the same account.

The woman frowned, but swiped everything. After they had finished paying for everything, they all got into a limo and headed to Stark Tower. They carried everything to the floor where their bedrooms were and started to pack everything away.

"Has anybody seen Loki?" Natasha asked, popping her head out of her door way. Tony ran into the room where Loki was staying, and saw that nobody was in there.

"He might have gone to see Lady Verity." Thor said, without walking out of his room. Tony rushed into the lounge room, where Steve was sitting on the couch.

"Did Loki come through here?" Tony asked, a little out of breath. Steve shook his head.

Tony groaned and ran back down the long hallway. He stopped right at the end, in front of a closed door. Verity was staying in this room. Tony was about to open it, when Thor, Bruce, Clint, Natasha and Steve came and stood behind him.

Natasha pushed in front of him and opened the door, relieving a large room with a double bed and cot at the end of it.

Verity was sitting, crossed legged, on the bed facing Loki who was slumped in the chair that sat next to it. Verity placed her finger on her lips, whispering, "The moment he sat down, he fell asleep."

Everybody made their way around the bed, waiting for Loki to wake. But he didn't. Tony frowned and asked, "Is he normally like this?"

Thor shrugged. Verity shook her head, saying in a whisper, "No. But I think that he has not been sleeping very well for the past two years."

Tony nodded, pulling his gaze away from the sleeping god, and looking down into the cot. A little boy slept peacefully, his hand near his mouth, his right leg twitching every now and then.

Verity slide down the bed so that she was in front of her son. She placed her chin on her knee, looking down at him, saying, "He is cute, isn't he?"

Natasha sat down next to her, nodding while staring at the baby. Tony cleared his voice softly before saying, "Have you named him?"

Verity shook her head. Tony smiled a little, "Great. Because I found a name that I think would suit him."

"It's not 'Tony', is it?" Clint scoffed. Tony glanced at him, before saying, "No. I was going to say Leo." He turned to look back at Verity.

She nodded a little, then smiled saying, "Little Leo. I love it."

Tony smiled widely and puffed out his chest. Natasha giggled again in her wired way, behind her hand, but stopped at once when they heard a soft grunt behind them, then a sharp inhale of breath.

Everybody turned to look at Loki, who was awake and looking around him. Verity crawled back up to the his end of the bed, saying, "Hey. Are you okay?"

Loki nodded very slightly, his left eye dropping a little. Verity sighed, looking down the bed covers. Then she took breath and asked, "Loki. How long are we going to stay like this?"

Everybody stared as Loki's eyes snapped open, as if he were suddenly wide awake. He took a sharp breath, before saying slowly, "Three days... at the least."

Verity popped her head up and repeated, "'At the least'. What is the most then?"

Loki grimaced, saying in a pained voice, "A month."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

"WHAT?!"

The cries of outrage and shock ringing in his ears, Loki closed his eyes and nodded painfully. He couldn't stand to look them all in the eye, least of all, Verity's.

"Why did you tell us 'three days'?!" Tony shouted, while everybody just stared at Loki. Thor was biting his lip, like he wanted to say something but didn't know how. Tony started towards Loki, but stopped when Verity moved in front of him.

Tony didn't want to hurt her, but he also wanted to punch Loki till he couldn't speak. But instead, he took a deep breath and said, "Fine. But why didn't you say so before?"

Loki lifted his head and looked out at them all before saying, "Because... I was sure that it would last just three days."

"What's different?" Steve asked, shrugging slightly. Loki swallowed, "None of you can feel it, except... me and Verity." Verity sat down next to him asking, "Feel what?"

Everybody was frowning now as Loki said quietly, "It's a bit of a tingling inside... near your heart." Verity's eyes widened as she whispered, "I had that feeling right after we turned into teenagers."

Loki nodded stiffly as he continued, "But only you and I will feel it, because we were the only ones that used the staff."

Tony swallowed and asked, "So... would you feel this... tingling... three days before you turn back?" Loki glanced at him and nodded, while saying, "Yes. It will continue for the rest of the three days, till we all go back into our normal forms."

Now everyone was shifting uncomfortably on the spot, not sure whether they liked that idea. Thor was the first one to move out of this state by saying, "Well, I'm staving. What are we eating for dinner?"

Everybody quickly agreed on having pizza, and left Tony to order it. After waiting for a few hours, JARVIS came online and said to Tony, who was playing the Xbox with Bruce and Clint, "Sir. The pizza has arrived and Colonel Rhodes is bringing it up in the lift."

"SHIT!" Tony shouted and quickly jumped up from his seat and ran towards the lift doors, which had just opened.

"Hey, Rhodey! What... ah, what are you doing here?" Tony asked, trying to act normal. Rhodey frowned as he said, "Very funny. Where's Tony, and who are you?"

Tony opened his mouth to say something when Loki came and stood next to him, raising one eyebrow and asking, "Problems, Stark?"

"No! I'm just talking to a friend." Tony snapped, still trying to act normal. Rhodey frowned as he asked, "Tony? Why are you..."

"A teenager? Good question." Tony gave a small, fake laugh as he tried to say, "Well, um, that's a bit hard to say. You might want to sit down."

Thor came into the room, and saw the boxes which Rhodey was holding and asked, "Is that the food you were talking about, Man of Iron?" Tony nodded and said, "Yep. Help yourself."

Natasha came into the room with Clint, and together they took the boxes and placed them on the table, as Natasha shouted, "Foods here! Get it while it's hot!"

Everybody came into the room, and either greeted Rhodey or sat down at the table.

"Who's this?" Rhodey asked as he shook Steve's hand. "Steve Rogers. It's a pleasure to meet you." Rhodey nodded slowly and moved on to shake Bruce's hand.

Tony led Rhodey over to the table and introduced everyone. "Guys, this is Colonel Rhodes, or Rhodey. That's Natasha, Clint, Thor..." He said, pointing at them as he said their names.

"Right." Rhodey said slowly, still a little freaked out by the teenager thing. He was about to sit down when Verity came out of the hall way.

"Oh, hi." She said, shaking Rhodey's hand. "Who are you?" Rhodey asked. Loki seemed to come out of nowhere, and said, " _That_ is my wife."

Everyone stared at him as he steered Verity away from Rhodey, whose face was blank with shock. Thor, who had his mouth open and was about to eat a slice of pizza, dropped it and stared at Loki as he tried to say something, but couldn't get the words out.

Verity glanced over at Loki as she sat down, and saw that he was smiling slightly. He really loved causing trouble.

Rhodey and Tony both sat down with a bit of a thump, across from Loki and Verity. Tony stared at them as they ate their pizza, Loki was very unsure about it at first but took a few bites anyway.

Tony glanced around at everyone else and saw that most of them trying to act like nothing had happened. Thor was the only one that was still watching his brother with very mixed emotions on his face. Shock, surprise, anger, happiness, and a little bit of envy.

"Will you stop staring at me Thor, and eat before your stomach deafens my ears?" Loki asked before taking another bite from his pizza, causing Thor's stomach to rumble loudly.

But he still didn't move. He just continued to stare at Loki. Verity sighed and said, "Did you want to ask a question, Thor?"

Thor blinked and suddenly he broke free from his frozen state, saying, "Yes. Why did you not tell me that you were married? How did you even get married, and when did this happen?"

Loki swallowed and bit his bottom lip. Verity glanced at him before answering, "We got married in secret the day before I was banished. Loki had come to me a week earlier, telling me that he wanted us to be joined. I was not yet of age, but Loki said that it did not matter since we were going to get married in secret, so no one would know."

"I tricked Odin into marrying us, but erased his memory after it had happened. But, when he banished Verity I knew that it might have been a mistake. But I did not say anything... because I was afraid that Odin might punish Verity a lot worse then he was already." Loki said, his voice turning into a low drone as he neared the end.

Everyone was staring at him. Natasha had tears in her eyes. Thor looked at his brother a little sadly as he said, "So you didn't tell me about it because I might have gone to Father and tell him."

Loki nodded, staring down at the floor. Verity sighed and said, "We weren't going to tell anyone anyway. Well... not until we had to."

Tony cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention, and asked in a causal voice, "Does anyone know how old they are?"

"Thor and Captain America are about 18 years, Banner is 17, Hawkeye is around 16, Black Widow, Stark and myself are 15, while Verity is 14." Loki said loudly. Everyone stared at each other in surprise then looked at Loki as Clint asked, "How did you know that?"

Loki seemed to think for a moment, before shrugging his shoulders. Rhodey cleared his throat and said, "Well, I think I should come back when you're older Tony."

With that he stood up, bid everyone good night, and left. Tony walked him to the lift, telling him that he'll call when they were back to normal and stood by the doors for a long while.

It was going to be a long month.

***Very early in the morning***

Verity opened her eyes to a crack and slowly turned over so that she was facing the alarm clock on her bedside table. It was 3:00 in the morning, and Leo was crying. She knew that if he didn't stop soon, he was going to wake everyone in the tower.

With a groan, Verity got up and walked to the end of her bed, where she picked Leo up and patted his back gently, while cradling him in her arms. She was very tired, but she had to try and be a responsible mother.

Unlike her own mother, who had died when she was nearly the age of 5. Verity smiled softly as she looked down into Leo's face, remembering that she had inherited her mother's fair skin and her magic. Verity sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed, still patting Leo's back for he was crying still, but a bit more softly now.

Soon, Leo had fallen back to sleep. Verity placed him back into his cot and watched as her son twitched slightly as he dreamed. Then she decided to climb back into bed.

But before she could lie down, Verity's door opened, revealing a silhouette standing in the hallway.

It was Loki.

"Loki! You frightened me." Verity cried quietly, placing her hand to her chest. Loki stepped into the room, saying, "I am sorry. But I had to see you."

Verity sat down on her bed and gestured for him to sit next to her. Loki perched on the edge, still facing her, his face cast in shadow. His voice was low and quiet when he spoke, but rang with love.

"I wanted you to know why I told you the truth, and not the others." Loki told her. Verity frowned and asked, "Why did you?"

Loki took a deep breath and said, "When you left when I was in the cage, I swore that if I ever saw or spoke to you again, that I would tell you the truth. No matter what the question."

Verity nodded, and asked, "So you told me that we could be staying in this form for a month, because it is the truth?"

"Yes." Loki whispered, looking down at the bed covers. Verity smiled slightly and said, "Well... I can't argue with that. Just tell me one thing."

Loki raised his head to look at her as she continued, "Why did you go to the Chitauri?"

Loki closed his eyes, and started off in a whisper, "I didn't go to them... they found me. I was stuck in between worlds... never sleeping... always drifting. I didn't know how much time had passed, but I knew that I was in there for a very long time. I almost thought myself gone, when they caught me and dragged me out. I was... grateful, and told them that I would do anything for them to repay my dept."

He stopped, breathing hard, fighting for breath. But still he continued, "They said that they wanted a world for themselves. They chose Midgard, and I agreed to help them get it, though I don't know why!" Verity stared at him in horror as tears weld up in his eyes, almost as if there was a great pain within him.

"They told me to get the Tesseract so that I could open a portal for them to here. Then they gave me the staff that controls the mind... and the other staff to turn anyone into a younger age, or older. They said that I could use that staff on any prisoners I wanted to keep. I thought about Thor... and Odin." Loki shook his head, his eyes filled with angry tears.

But when he looked at Verity, they softened, and he whispered to her, "I am not in my right mind."

Verity swallowed and placed her right arm on his shoulder, saying, "You are now. Help me keep it that way."

Loki gave a small smile, but it went very quickly. Verity forced her own tears back and said in a loving voice, "You are Loki of Asgard, Odin's son, Thor's brother. You are Leo's father." She paused before continuing, "You are the Loki that I love, and shall always love. You... are... my... Loki." Her voice was shaking violently as she said those last few words, tears spilling down her face.

When Loki drew her in for a warming hug, all of her emotions came out as she sat there crying softly into his jacket. The two years apart just seemed to melt away as they sat there in the dark, with nothing between them anymore.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13:

Loki had his eyes closed when he woke in the morning, at a more reasonable hour. He didn't open his eyes when he noticed that his left arm was tingling and numb, nor when he realized that he was lying on a soft surface. But he did open his eyes when he noticed that his nostrils were full of the smell of sweet flowers, like jasmine, and when he heard a soft breathing coming from in front of him.

When his eyes were open, he saw that he was sleeping on Verity's bed, and that Verity herself was sleeping with her back pressed against his front. Her neck was on his left arm, the cause of the numbness, her own left hand in his hand hand. Loki smiled slightly as he realized that the sweet flower smell was coming form Verity's hair, which was practically under his cheek.

His right hand was resting of Verity's belly, which was held down by her hand. Loki lifted his head a little and saw that little rays of sun was shinning through the draw curtains, and that Verity was under the covers, while he was on top of them. His cheeks burned slightly as he realized that he was still wearing his boots.

Slowly, carefully, he moved his right hand out from under her hand. After his hand was free, Loki waited for a few seconds before trying to move his left arm. But as he moved his arm, Verity turned over her head and opened her eyes a crack.

"Hi." She whispered. Loki smiled at her, and before he could say anything, Verity lifted her head and he freed his arm. "I did not mean to wake you." He told her, shaking his arm a little to remove the numbness.

"That's alright." Verity sighed with her eyes closed. "Loki?" Loki, who had been about to sneak off of the bed, stopped and looked back at her, saying, "Yes?"

Verity sighed and sat up a little, before asking, " I wanted to ask you last night... what will happen if the Chitauri find you?"

Loki closed his eyes and sighed heavily, before answering, "They will... torture me... break every bone in my body... then they'll... slaughter me." He opened his eyes to see Verity's face riddled with fear, and horror.

"Is there a way, for you not to get captured?" She asked, stumbling a little. Loki nodded saying, "I only have two options. One: I open a portal for them to come here. Two... I hide myself so that they will not find me."

He watched as Verity bowed her head before asking, "Which one would you chose?"

Loki thought for a second before shrugging and saying in a loving voice, "I do not know. All I want to do is stay here... with you." Verity shook her head, but couldn't help smiling at him. She laid back down and said, "You might want to think about washing yourself, since you haven't had a shower for nearly two years."

Loki smiled, swept down to kiss her cheek, then stood up again and walked to the bathroom.

***Out in the dinning room***

Tony yawned hugely and muttered to no one in particular, "I still don't see why we have to get up at 7:00, in the morning."

"Because, growing teenagers need to wake up at the proper time, so that they can lead healthy lives!" Natasha said, smiling hugely and placing a plate of toast in front of him.

Steve glanced over at Clint, who was staring at Natasha as if he didn't know who she was, and asked, "I'm guessing that she's not normally like this?"

Clint shook his head, his mouth still wide open as he continued to stare at her as she placed a bowl of cereal in front of Bruce. Steve nodded slowly before flicking his newspaper and started to read it again.

Everyone else was just as shocked at by Natasha's new attitude. Tony was watching her with dislike, while Bruce and Clint just stared at her. Steve was reading an out of date newspaper, while Thor came stumbling in, his eyes wide with shock, fear, and horror.

"What's up with you?" Tony asked him as he sat down with a thump. Thor shook his head slightly, before telling them, "I walked pass Loki's room... and it was empty."

"WHAT?!" Tony shouted, jumping up and pulling at his hair. Thor nodded, before saying, "I'm sure he is just playing around."

But everybody was soon jumping up and following Tony into the lounge room. Thor sighed heavily before standing and moving behind them. But then he froze, he's mouth hanging wide open, when he saw a tall figure in the middle of the room.

"Who's that?" Steve asked as Thor moved pass him, his mouth still open, as he moved towards the figure. Tony frowned as he shrugged, trying to think where he had seen that face before.

"Well, well, well." The man said, a smile curling at his lips. Thor finally found his voice, saying, "Brother. What... how are you grown again?"

Loki chuckled slightly as he hissed, "Wouldn't you like to know." Everyone stared at Loki, who didn't look like the Loki that they had captured before. For starters, he was wearing golden armor, not the black and green garments he was wearing before. A green cape flowed down from his shoulders to the ground.

Tony couldn't give a small chuckle as he looked at his helmet, which made it look like he had horns coming of his head. But he also noticed that Loki's hair was cut short, so that it wasn't just touching his shoulders.

"Wait. You said that we wouldn't go back to our real forms for another month." Clint cried out, starting towards Loki, who just smiled even more so that it looked like his face was split in two.

"I lied." He hissed at Clint. "Why would I tell the truth to you pathetic Midgardians?"

Thor's face was outrageous as he stared up at his brother, who was about a head taller than he was. Tony looked around to see whether there was something for him to throw at Loki. But then he froze.

Verity was standing in the corner of the room, her eyes glittering as she stared at Loki. But then Tony noticed that the teenager Loki was standing next to her, his face filled with shock and rage.

Tony threw his head back and forth, looking from one Loki to the other, before yelling, "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!"

Everybody spun round to face Tony, and saw Verity and Loki in the corner. Verity jumped, and the adult Loki slowly vanished. Thor gave a cry and started towards the real Loki with open arms.

"Brother!" Thor cried. Loki gave a yelp and ducked under Thor's arm, backing away from him slowly. But Thor quickly grabbed Loki and drew him in for a tight hug.

Loki's face went pale as he patted Thor's shoulder and chocked, "Thor. You can let go now. Please." He gave a gasp and drew in air as Thor let him go.

Tony stared at him, then at Verity, who went pink in the face and said, "I was trying out some of my powers." Tony groaned and placed his fingers on his eyes, shaking his head.

Everyone walked back into the dinning room, where Natasha finished placing everyone's breakfast on the table. Then Tony remembered something, and turned to Loki and Verity, asking, "You two weren't sleeping with each other last night... were you?"

Verity went very still, and Loki frowned at him questioningly as he said, "Yes. Is that a problem?"

"I think what Tony is saying is... did you two, ah... make... love?" Natasha asked awkwardly. Everyone stared at them. Loki had a look of disgust on his face as he cried, "No!"

Thor gave a sigh of relief and smiled at his brother, saying, "I knew you were still sensible not to do that in your form, Brother."

Loki turned his head to look at him, his eyes narrowed as he asked, "What is that suppose to mean?" Thor shifted uncomfortably and stuffed some cereal into his mouth to prevent him from answering.

Everybody followed his actions, except Loki, who was still staring at Thor. Finally Thor looked at him and said, "I did not mean it to sound the way it did, Brother."

Verity sighed, and whispered in Loki, so that only he could hear, "He was saying that we are in too young of a form to make love, without it sounding wrong."

Loki glanced at her, gave her a small smile then turned back to face Thor, saying curtly, "You are forgiven."

Thor sighed in relief, but did not try to hug his brother again this time. For that, Loki was very grateful.

"So... what were you doing last night?" Clint asked, smiling mischievously at them. Loki looked down at the table and said, "I rather not say." Everyone glanced at each other, and Natasha gave a small whistle.

Tony tried to hold back a laugh as he said, "That makes you sound really guilty."

Verity glanced at him and shook her head slightly, before saying, "If Loki does not wish to say what happened, then he will not say. Neither will I." With that she stood up and left the table.

She walked back down the hall to her room, and Tony looked a little guilty as she disappeared into the dark room. Loki still did not look up as everyone moved around, which made Thor a little worried about his younger brother.

"What ails you?" He asked quietly as Natasha went around, picking up the plates and bowls. Loki glanced at him and said softly, "It is nothing. Do not worry. I am fine."

But Thor still watched after him worriedly as Loki stood up and headed towards the lounge room, where Tony, Clint and Bruce were continuing their game from the night before.

Loki sat down on the couch that sat next to the window and stared at it, expecting to see the Chitauri flying outside it. But there was nothing except for people that were going about their day.

He sighed, relaxing a little, but still keeping his guard up. Loki turned to watched the game that was happening on a flat screen, and wondered slightly at how it worked.

"No fair! That was mine!" Tony cried to Clint who was sitting next to him. Loki shook his head and watched as Steve and Thor came walking in, staring in fascination at the screen, while Natasha was washing the dishes and singing along to the radio playing next to her.

Loki closed his eyes, and lent his head back on to the glass behind him. Before he knew it, he was asleep once more.

***Three hours later***

"I'm bored." Tony said, and threw down his controller. He had been playing by himself for while. Clint and Bruce were sitting at the table drinking some juice, while Thor and Steve had been watching the game with interest. They sighed and went to sit next to the others at the table.

Tony looked over Natasha, who was drying the dishes now and still singing to the radio, but was now swinging her hips also. Tony's eye twitched, as he thought once again, as he had so many times before, that she wasn't herself.

He sighed, thinking that there was nothing interesting here, when he spotted Loki, asleep with his head on the window.

A smile curved at the edge of Tony's mouth as he formed a plan is his mind. He went into the office that was a floor lower than where he was and grabbed a pen.

Then he went back upstairs and crept towards the sleeping teenager. After drawing a curly mustache on his upper lip. Smothering a laugh, Tony backed away into the dinning room.

Then he laughed till it felt like his lungs would burst. Everyone stared at him in shock, and Loki woke with a sudden jerk.

"What are you laughing about, Stark?" He asked as he walked into the room. Everybody saw the pen mark on his upper lip. Clint and Tony were in a fit of laughter, Thor, Steve, and Bruce stared at them in disgust, while Natasha gave Loki a look of pity.

Steve cleared his throat and said to Loki, "You might want to look in the mirror."

Loki frowned, but gladly left their company. He walked down to the bathroom at the end of the hall, opened the door and gave a cry of shock and outrage.

Outside in the dinning room, he heard Tony and Clint laugh even more. Loki walked into the room, anger spilling out of him as he ran some water and rubbed at the mark.

A sound of a door opening came to his ears, and Verity appeared in the mirror. She gasped when she saw the smudged mark on his lip and said, "Tony doesn't know when to stop."

She walked into the and took a sponge. She made Loki sit on the edge of the bathtub, and gently whipped at the mark. Loki closed his eyes and his anger calmed.

"Why do you call him 'Tony'?" He asked, making Verity jump a little. She gave a breathy laugh before answering, "I've known Tony for nearly two years. We're friends, even if we don't see eye to eye."

Loki sighed and opened his eyes to look at Verity's face. She smiled at him, before placing the sponge down and saying, "There. Now you're back to your old self."

"Good." Loki said, standing up, "Now... I'm going to kill Stark."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14:

"STARK!"

Tony froze as Loki stormed into the room, his upper lip red, but clean. Tony tried to run away but Loki grabbed his shirt, and he was pushed against the wall. Loki lifted him up with surprising strength.

"Loki! Put Tony down!" Verity came next to them and tried to pull his arm down. Loki glanced at her, then back at Tony who was nodding and saying, "Yes. Just listen to her."

Loki slowly placed Tony back on the ground whose knees collapsed. Verity sighed deeply, before turning to Tony and saying, "Say sorry."

Tony stared at her in shock, trying to stand up while yelling, "Me?! What about him! He's the one that pinned me against the wall!"

"Apologize!" Verity growled at him, her voice low and deadly. Tony swallowed, but stood his ground by saying, "Why?" Verity was staring at him, not blinking, which sort of freaked Tony out.

"You do _not_ want to know Loki's rage." She said quietly. Loki closed his eyes, his arms folded, as he turned away, saying, "You need not apologize, Stark. There is nothing to forgive."

Everyone stared at him, Tony and Verity most of all. Tony clapped his hands together and said, "Right. Well. Thanks. Who's up for a movie?"

"Loki?" Verity asked, placing her hand on his shoulder. Her voice was low and worried as she asked, "What's wrong?"

Loki took a shaky breath before saying, "After Father... Odin... banished you to here, I tried to hide it but..." He shook his head. He couldn't continue. Thor's eyes widened as he asked softly, "You made the palace shake?"

Verity moved her head to Thor, then back to Loki who was nodding slowly. Thor stepped forward and told Verity, "On the day that you were banished, Lady Verity, soon after the palace started to shake. There wasn't a spot where it did not vibrate, and there was a great yell. Everyone wondered who it was that could be in such pain. But I did not realize..."

Thor looked at his younger brother, who still had his eyes closed and his back turned. Everyone was staring at him, and Thor continued, saying, "After that day, Loki was always cold and calm, never showing his rage again. Not until... the day that the Bifrost was broken."

Loki scoffed, and said, "I was upset because of my heritage. But it was never real rage. The only rage I felt was for Odin. I remember telling myself that he would pay for what he had done." His eyes were open now, and they were wide as he turned to look at Verity.

"That's when I left my right mind." He whispered.

Everyone was staring at him, Natasha had tears in her eyes again. She sniffled and said in a chocked up voice, "You say the most touching things!"

Clint's eyes widen as everyone, once again, thought about the way Natasha was acting. Tony scoffed and said, "Well, I for one, have had enough of this 'touching the heart' subject."

With that he walked pass everyone and sat down on the couch, his feet on the table.

***Two days later***

Loki sighed heavily and rolled over in his sleep. Verity was next to him, though she was starting to wake up because of Leo's crying. Even though everyone made sure that they saw Loki close the door to his room, and made him promise to stay in there, Loki still crept back into Verity's room once everyone was asleep.

Verity smiled to herself as she remembered hearing her door closing softly, and feeling the bed sink a little as Loki lay down next to her. She thought that it was sweet of him to want to stay with her, but she knew that Tony disagreed.

Tony didn't like the idea of Loki being in the same room as her, little lone the same bed. Verity sighed and shook her head, getting up to pick Leo up. She was just about to leave the room, when a loud voice cut through the building.

"Avengers! Report!" It was Fury.

Loki's eyes opened suddenly, and he sat up quickly. He looked around him, his eyes wide with fear. Then he caught sight of Verity, who was watching him worryingly, and he seemed to calm down.

Before Verity could ask any questions, however, the sound of doors and feet running broke the silence. Loki quickly hopped off of the bed and dashed towards the door. Verity followed him a little more slowly for she was holding their son.

When they came to stand in front of Fury, however, Loki really wished that they had stayed in the room.

Fury's face was thunderous. His voice was low and deep when he spoke. "Can someone tell me why you're all _still_ teenagers?"

Steve cleared his throat and stepped forward, saying, "After we back here, we settled in and went to visit Ms Verity. That's when Loki told us that we might be staying in this form for a month."

Fury glared at Steve as he stepped back. Then he turned his glare on Loki, who faced him with his head held high.

"Why did you _not_ tell us before?" Fury growled. Loki stared straight pass him as he answered, "I did not think it was needed."

"Well guess what? It was needed. I need to know exactly how long the avengers, Earth's only defense from aliens, are going to stay as children! So before you give me any of your smart talk, I want to know everything." Fury never left his gaze from Loki's face, not even blinking. Loki just stared pass his shoulder, not giving any sign that he had even heard what Fury said.

Verity sighed and said, "Nick. Loki told us that he and I would feel a tingling feeling near our hearts, three days before we all turn back to our own forms. But until we feel that, there really isn't anything that we can do."

Fury looked at her before saying, "Alright. Just answer me this. Where did you get that staff in the first place?"

Loki closed his eyes slightly and swallowed, before answering, "They gave it to me."

"The Chitauri?" Thor asked at his brother with fascination. Loki gave a small nod, before saying, "They told me to use it on who I wanted to take prisoner. Not that the other staff couldn't do that, but I think I might have found what the real purpose was..."

His voice trailed off and he looked up at Fury, saying, "That staff had a trick to it. It was well hidden, but in the end, I found out what it was. The reason why I also turned into a child with the others. The Chitauri made sure that if my mind changed plans, then they would turn me into a child, and since I am in this form, they know that I'll not get very far away from them."

Verity grabbed his arm, still holding Leo in the other, and cried, "Loki! You said that you could hide from them."

Loki gave her a small, sad smile, saying quietly, "I said that it was an option. I didn't say it would work." He sighed as Verity's eyes widened and he continued in the same voice, "Did you really think that anyone could hide from the Chitauri for long? Even me?"

"Yes." Verity said, her voice sounding strong, but was given away by the tears in her eyes. Loki closed his eyes, so that he did not have to look at her face. Then he swooped down and kissed her cheek gently.

Everyone stared at them, their eyes following Loki's actions. Fury had began tapping his foot, as he asked, "How do we stop them?"

Loki took a breath before saying, "You don't. I can."

***Back at the helicarrier***

"Are you sure about this?" Verity asked Loki as he lay down on the bed. He smiled at her, before saying, "Of course. Do not worry. I will be fine."

Verity nodded, and placed her hand in his. He squeezed it briefly, before closing his eyes and sending himself into a deep sleep. His grip loosened, and his hand fell but Verity did not leave his side, as she whispered, "I'll be here when you wake."

A doctor came into the room, and said, "Miss. I need you to leave." Verity nodded and let the man guide her out of the room into a another one where they could watch Loki through a window.

Thor was pacing around, for he could not sit still while his brother went into a battle of minds. Fury was sitting on one of the seats, watching. Tony, Bruce, Steve and Clint all stood by the window. Natasha walked towards her, holding Leo.

Verity took Leo into her arms, but did not leave her gaze from Loki's pale face. Natasha stood by her and whispered, "It must be awful. Having your husband go into danger like that, leaving you with nothing but his memory in your child, that rests in your arms while you worry and watch, waiting to know what will happen."

"It is not a nice feeling." Verity said, nodding slightly.

Thor came and stood next to her, leaning on the window sill, saying, "I can't stand this! Why did Loki not tell us of the dangers he would be facing?" Verity shook her head saying softly, "Because he does not know himself."

Everyone went still as little sprays of green magic went flying from Loki's body, which was twitching slightly. Verity closed her eyes, not able to watch. She could feel his pain, that did not show.

"What's happening to his skin?!" Tony cried, making Verity's eyes fly open. She watched in horror as Loki's skin started to turn blue, and markings appear on his forehead.

This wasn't suppose to happen! Verity turned to Natasha and handed Leo back to her, then left the room. She flew under the arms of the doctors, and ran into the room where Loki was. Once she was there, she grabbed his hand, sending all of her strength and love through his body. But she knew that it wasn't enough.

Verity set her lips, as she realized what she had to do. She ran to the other bed provided and lay down herself. She then closed her eyes and sent herself into the same deep sleep that Loki had set for himself.

 _I will not leave you Loki!_ She sent her thought to him, though she knew that he wouldn't be able to hear. So it was quite a shock when she heard a reply.

 _I know._


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15:

The breeze was cold on Verity's face, and the sun tickled her face. Verity sighed and opened her eyes, to see that she was laying on silk covered pillows in the palace of Asgard. She sat up quickly and saw that the door to the room was open.

"Verity."

She spun her head around till she saw Loki standing below her. He was beckoning to her, saying, "Come on."

Verity blinked and she was standing next to him. For a few seconds, she looked around her, baffled. But then Loki started to run, shouting over his shoulder, "Race you to the top."

Astounded, Verity realized that they were standing at the bottom of a flight of stairs, and that she and Loki were both children, around the age of 8 or so. Verity then threw all of these thoughts away and raced after Loki, who had reached the top of the stairs and was still running.

When Verity came to the top, however, she stopped and looked to her right. There was a plain, with little white flowers and a purple tree standing above two wooden chairs. Her breath caught in her throat, as she realized that another Loki was sitting in one of the chairs, sitting beneath black clouds.

But he was older than the child Loki. A lot older. He was the real, adult Loki.

Verity swallowed and started forward. She looked behind her and saw that there was nothing except plain, and dark sky. The dream shattered, as she remembered what had happened, and why she was here.

"You came." Loki said, his eyes closed, his head bowed. Verity sat down next to him and said, "You knew that I would."

A smile played at the corner of his mouth as he said, "I know a lot of things. Such as, you were planing on turning us all into teenagers in the first place." He chuckled slightly as Verity gasped, placing her hand over her mouth, as she whispered in horror, "You knew?"

"Yes." Loki nodded, but his eyes stayed shut. "I knew from the moment that you picked up the staff. I would have said something, but... I wanted to go back to the our younger years. Deep down, I knew that I needed to be in that form again."

Verity smiled at him sadly, before saying, "If I had known how much pain there was going to be, I wouldn't have done it until Leo was born."

Loki nodded, finally opening his eyes. He looked at her, with those dark green eyes that were filled with sadness. Then something clicked in Verity's mind. "You were never in your right mind. The entire time, you were acting."

He nodded as Verity continued, "Your eyes give it away. They were never green. Before I was banished... your eyes were blue."

A smirk appeared on his face as Loki said, "I must admit that I was close to being in my right mind again. I thought that you would give it away. But if not you, then Thor at least! But no one noticed. Which just goes to show, how little I mean to you all."

He leaned in on Verity, the smirk was gone, and it was replaced by anger and disgust. Verity's heart was beating very fast, but she kept her ground as she said, in a cracking voice, "You changed my life. If it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't be alive."

"You also wouldn't have been pregnant if it hadn't of been for me." Loki said, his voice was full of disgust. Verity shook her head, saying, "That's not what I meant. When my mother died, my life lost all meaning. I nearly killed myself. My father found me trying to jump off of the bridge, so he took me to the palace to see whether there was anything possessing me. But they found nothing. That's when I saw you."

Loki's face was in a state of shock, but Verity watched his eyes, as he said quietly, "You never said anything about this."

Verity shook her head, but her heart was beating even faster. His eyes had changed colour. Very slightly, but just enough to tell her that she was winning this battle.

"You can imagine how hard it was for me to live with the knowledge that I tried to murder myself." She shrugged as she continued, "I even thought about doing it again, when my father took me to the palace. But when I saw you... I never thought about it again. Because I saw you as a small frost giant. What you really were. I was... curios. I never saw anything like it, and everyone else didn't seem to see it. Then one day, I saw you like everyone else saw you."

Loki's eyes were closed again. Verity leaned forward and whispered, "I'm unusual too." Loki swallowed before asking, "Are you a frost giant? Raised by someone who lied to your entire life?"

Verity shook her head, saying, "Worse. I am a lie." Loki's eyes snapped open. They were a clear sky blue. Verity smiled and placed her hand on his cheek, only then noticing that she was in her real form too.

But she didn't say anything about it. Instead, she whispered to him lovingly, "That's the Loki I know."

Loki placed his hand against hers, saying, "Verity. Your name means truth. How can you be a lie?" Verity smiled softly as she said, "That's the best part. That's why you told me that you loved me, that day on the hill. Because of my mother, I'm only half Asgardian. My father's half. My mother's... deadly." Understanding came to Loki's eyes. Then he smiled, a huge smile.

"You're not a Frost Giant. Not even half." He said, still with that big smile. "You're a lot worse. Your mother was maybe the last of her kind. A dark elf."

Verity smiled and nodded, before saying, "Though in my mother's defense, female dark elves were the worst, most deadly, and beautiful things in all of the realms. But then she fell into a forbidden love, with my father. Just like with you and me."

Loki's smile was still there, but it seemed to grow bigger as he said, "We're one pair."

Verity laughed till it felt like her lungs would burst. And Loki laughed with her. Then Verity calmed down and rested her head on his shoulder. Not once did his eyes turn back to green, and she knew... that Loki was in his right mind, and that he was going to stay that way.

"You made it up. Didn't you?" She asked, still leaning against her husband. Loki looked down at her, asking, "The Chitauri? Well... they were there, and they did give both staffs. But yes... they're not coming."

A long, deep sigh escaped Verity's mouth. But other than that, there was silence. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again... she was back in the room.

***A month later***

After spending a month as teenagers, everyone was quite prepare to get back to their real lives. So it was a relief when Verity reported that she could feel that tingling Loki said would happen.

Loki himself, hid mostly in the bedroom with Leo. After waking up, and everyone seeing that his eyes were a different colour, Thor had given the game away by slapping himself in the fore head and saying that he had forgotten that Loki's eyes were blue.

So he tried to stay away from the others... except for Verity and Thor, who he felt safe to be in the company of. But he refused to see Thor without Verity in the room, because of Thor's breath cutting hugs. He seemed to take every opportunity he could to hug him, saying that he missed his little brother very much, and that he just had to hug him.

"In case you lose your rightful mind again, Brother." Thor said after pulling away from Loki in the dark room two days before they were to go back to their own forms.

Loki was bent double, trying to regain his breath, so Verity spoke for him, saying, "The only reason why Loki would go insane again, is if he was found by the Chitauri again."

Verity smiled at Loki's wide eyes, and how he shook his hands in front of him, telling her that it would never happen again. But Thor frowned as he asked, "Why are you so sure?" She smiled and whispered to him when Loki had turned his back, "Magic. I made sure that it doesn't happen again, by putting a boundary around the insane part, and the only lock to the key: Chitauri."

Thor nodded slowly, before frowning and asking, "What happens if he sees a picture of them?"

Verity shrugged saying, "It won't do anything. As long as he doesn't see a real, living Chitauri... he's fine."

"How's he going to avoid seeing another Chitauri for the rest of his life?" Thor asked. Loki had now regained his breath, and he answered, "Because, they are far away from here, and I'm not going to step foot on another world, other than the Nine Realms."

A smile spread across Thor's face, and he yelled, "That is a brilliant plan! All we need to do is talk to Father!"

Loki's eyes widened, and he said to Thor, "I'm not sure whether you remember, Brother. But I am not exactly on Father's good side at the moment." Thor shrugged and replied, "Do not worry! Father will understand that you were not in your right mind, and so he'll forgive you."

"We'll see."

***Four days later***

They were all standing on the roof top of Stark tower, everyone was in their true forms again. The avengers were standing a little away from Loki and Verity, who was holding Leo.

"He's got your eyes." Verity said lovingly, smiling hugely at their son. Loki gave a small smile, and said grimly, "Let us hope he doesn't end up like his father."

Verity shrugged, saying, "I don't know. I think he'll make a great Asgardian prince one day. But if it worries you so much..." Verity looked up at Loki, "I think he's going to look exactly like you."

Loki sighed deeply, a true smile spreading over his face as he said, "You're just stirring me up."

"What if I am?" Verity asked innocently. Loki gave a sad smile, and drew her in for a hug. She gave a shaky breath and closed her eyes, before quickly kissing his cheek and saying, "You come back. Loki. You come back to us."

Loki swallowed the lump that was stuck in his throat, whispering to her, "I will. I promise, Lady Verity, that I will."

"Time's up!" Fury called over to them. Loki sighed, and together they walked over to the avengers. Loki gave Verity a final kiss, before going to stand next to Thor.

"Heimdall. We're ready." Thor called up above them.

A dull roar came and the clouds lit up with all the colours of the rainbow. Just before the bridge swallowed them up, Loki called to Verity, "Goodbye, Lady Verity. I will return."

The last thing Verity saw of her husband, was Loki's light blue eyes, staring lovingly out at her.

 **COMING SOON:**

 **THE AVENGERS AND LOKI: THE GHOST**

 **If you really liked this story, and want to hear more about the Avengers and Loki, then please write "Yes" or "No" in the comment section.**

 **Thank you for reading!**


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